Okay, so, you guys know how much I love baking, right? Especially during the holidays. And this year, I decided to get a little bit more festive with my cookies. I’ve always made gingerbread cookies, but this time, I thought, why not use some fun gingerbread man cookie cutters? Sounds simple enough, yeah?
So I went online, did some quick searches, and oh boy, there are so many options out there! I ended up grabbing a couple of different sets from Chef Aid and Ann Clark Cookie Cutters just to try something new. They looked pretty solid, and I’ve used some of their other cutters before, and they were okay.
The first thing I did was whip up a batch of my go-to gingerbread dough. I’ve been using the same recipe forever, and it always turns out great. While the dough was chilling, I got the cutters ready. I laid out some parchment paper on my baking sheets and lightly dusted my work surface with flour – you know, the usual routine to prevent sticking.
Once the dough was ready, I rolled it out to about a quarter-inch thickness. Then came the fun part – using the cutters! I started with the classic gingerbread man shape, pressing the cutter firmly into the dough. I made sure to dip the cutter in flour every few cookies to keep it from sticking.
- Press firmly: Made sure the cutter went all the way through the dough.
- Flour the cutter: This is key to prevent the dough from sticking to the inside.
- Space them out: Left about an inch between each cookie on the baking sheet so they wouldn’t spread into each other.
After cutting out a bunch of gingerbread men, I decided to switch it up and use some of the other shapes I got. There were stars, snowflakes, and even a little reindeer! The variety was super cool and it is really fun.
Once the cookies were all cut out, I popped them in the preheated oven. They baked for about 10-12 minutes. The kitchen started to smell amazing – that warm, spicy gingerbread scent, you know? It instantly felt like Christmas. I pulled them out when the edges started to brown slightly, and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once they were cool, it was decorating time! I made some royal icing, split it into different bowls, and added some food coloring. Red, green, white – the classic Christmas colors. Then, I just let my creativity flow. I piped on little buttons, scarves, and smiley faces on the gingerbread men. The other shapes got their own little makeovers, too. The stars got some white icing outlines, the snowflakes got a dusting of edible glitter, and the reindeer got little red noses, of course.
Honestly, these cookies turned out so much cuter than I expected! The gingerbread man cutters really made a difference. They were easy to use, and the cookies held their shape perfectly. Plus, decorating them was a blast. It was such a fun activity, and the cookies were almost too cute to eat… almost!
So, yeah, if you’re planning on doing some holiday baking, definitely consider getting some gingerbread man cookie cutters. They’re a simple tool, but they can really take your cookies to the next level. And it’s a fun process from start to finish. You can make a whole afternoon of it. You will be happy to see them!
